House of Horror
by Senigata
Summary: It's Denzel's first Ghost Lantern Festival ever since his parents died, and he is really looking forward to it. But he will soon find out that not everything is as it seemes on this most spooky of nights.


**Happy Halloween. Here's a little something for the occassion!**

* * *

**House of Horror**

He turned his head left and right, his eyes peeking through the slits inside the grey furred mask adorning his face, focusing on the canines. They were painted red to make it look like they had just been sunk into delicious, warm flesh.

He looked absolutely terrifying.

A huge grin formed on Denzel's face. _Awesome!_

He took in the rest of his werewolf costume. Cloud had made it for him last week. To say that he had been over the moon was an understatement. It had been two years since he celebrated the Ghost Lantern Festival, so he was eager to go out there and chase away evil spirits with his lantern.

And get some candy, of course.

His hand ran over the fur of his mask and he was still surprised how real it felt. When he had asked Cloud where he found it the only response he'd gotten was: "_In a monster's den."_

Denzel was pretty sure that he was joking.

He took a step back to look at the rest of his werewolf costume and nodded to himself. Leaving his and Marlene's room, he headed downstairs into the bar where his foster sister was waiting for him, already all dressed up in a brown robe, sitting at one of the tables.

"Hey," she greeted him from behind the oddly cute, yet creepy green mask with bulging eyes that were entirely yellow. Lifting her mask, she grinned at him. "You look scary!"

"So do you!" They both burst into laughter. Denzel took in her costume once more. She wore little green mittens and a little green tail peeked out from under her robes. When he had asked Tifa what the costume was supposed to be she only said 'Tonberry', whatever that was.

He looked around. "Where's Cloud and Tifa?"

Marlene shrugged. "They said something about looking for some pumpkin juice in the storage room."

"Huh. This long?"

She was about to answer when a knock on the door interrupted her. The look in her eyes turned mischievous as she rose to her feet.

"I wonder who that could be~" she sing-songed, causing him to groan. For some reason Marlene insisted that he _liked_ Jody, the girl they had befriended a while ago. Back when he met her she and her brother were suffering from Geostigma, just like he did. She had looked so sad and angry at the time as she carried her sibling, Denzel couldn't help but feel bad for her. Not long after, her brother died and things had gotten worse, before miraculously getting better.

Now they were hanging out together almost daily, and maybe, just maybe, his heart did a little flutter when he heard her voice or saw her smile. Like right now, as Marlene opened the door and she greeted them with a cheerful voice.

"How's it going?" she asked. Denzel could already imagine her smile, perfectly committed to memory.

But he certainly did not _like_ her.

"We're good," Marlene said while Denzel gave her a nod very much like Cloud would do. He looked at Jody, all dressed up in a white blanket with a spooky face drawn on it.

"So you're a ghost?" he asked.

"Moogle ghost," she replied and pointed towards the red pom-pom resting above her head.

Marlene giggled. "You sure love your Moogles."

"They're cute," Jody said with a shrug, then looked around. "Cloud and Tifa not here?"

"They're—"

"We're here!" Tifa announced as she stepped into the bar together with Cloud. Denzel noticed her hands fastening the little leather part on her witch costume, in front of her chest. Their faces were a little red, not unlike his parents' when his dad had to help his mom fix her clothes.

So perhaps Cloud had to fix her costume, and that's why they were gone for so long?

After fixing up her costume, Tifa adjusted her pointy hat and put a hand on her hip.

"That's a nice costume," she complimented Jody, and playfully tapped the little pom-pom on Jody's head.

"You will pay for what you've dooooooone, kupo!" Jody moaned all ghost-like before breaking out into giggles. "Thanks! I made it myself."

Cloud looked around, the little cape he wore moving in motion with him. "Where's your other friend?" he asked.

"Maya is sick," Marlene explained. Maya was a girl from the orphanage that Marlene had befriended some time ago. These days it was pretty rare not to see the four of them hang out all the time.

"Aww, that's too bad."

"Don't worry. I'll save some sweets for her!" she said with a grin.

"So are you all ready to go?" Tifa asked.

They answered in a chorus of "Yes!" that made her chuckle, as she walked behind the bar to retrieve two self made lanterns, each holding a candle.

"Do you need one too?" she asked Jody as she handed him and Marlene one lantern each. "We've made a few spares."

They had spent the last couple of days making an assortment of lanterns for the other kids in the area, whose parents didn't have the time or money to make some themselves. Denzel had accompanied her earlier this morning as they offered them around the neighborhood.

"I'm good," Jody replied while holding up her own lantern. "The folks at the orphanage helped us make them."

"Alright then." Tifa walked back over to the counter and took the matchbox lying there. Taking one out, she knelt down in front of Marlene.

Lighting the match, Tifa proceeded to hold it over the candlewick until a little flame was burning on it.

"Begone, begone, evil spirits begone. With this incantation you shall be undone!" Tifa recited the traditional chant with a little giggle as she closed the lid on Marlene's lantern.

She repeated the process two more times as she lit Jody and Denzel's.

"Remember what we talked about," Cloud said as sternly as he could with a set of fake vampire fangs in his mouth.

"No straying out of town and be back here in two hours," Denzel repeated. "Don't worry. I'll make sure."

Cloud chuckled, but a frown still formed on his face. "Maybe one of us should still go with them?"

"Relax, Cloud," Tifa said and placed an arm around his shoulders. "They're smart kids. Besides, things are going to get busy soon."

While they were out, Marlene's dad and the rest of their friends, as well as some of the regulars, would come together to have a party.

Cloud released a sigh and smiled. "You're right."

The two accompanied them to the door, giving each of them a goodbye before releasing them into the slightly chilly evening air. Sunset had been an hour ago, so it was already dark out.

Denzel spotted a few groups of kids making their way through the neighborhood and turned towards the two girls.

"Well, let's mosey," he said. Like the other kids, they moved from doorstep to doorstep, offering to chase evil spirits and ghosts away in exchange for a small offering, which was candy in their case.

After they were done with their little corner of Edge, they moved to the next neighborhood, and from there to the next. They continued that until they had made their way to the center of town.

The entire town was decorated for the festivities and all around them people were walking around. Some were dressed in costumes as well, while others were dressed in their regular clothes, yet still enjoyed the spooky atmosphere on this very special evening.

"Where to next?" Denzel asked. He looked into his bag, checking out all the candy inside. A pretty good haul so far.

"Let's go that way!" Marlene said and pointed towards the east, where he could see the ruins of Midgar looming in the distance.

Denzel frowned under his mask. "Cloud said we should stay away from the ruins."

"We're not going into the ruins. We're just going in that direction. People still live there, you know?"

Next to him he heard Jody giggle. "She's right. He didn't say anything about going that way."

"True, I guess," Denzel murmured. Together they made their way eastward, going from door to door in their quest for candy.

Denzel knew the area a bit. It was where the first buildings had been built. Him and a few other orphans made use of their small body size to crawl into hard to reach places inside the ruins and sold the supplies to the construction builders in exchange for money and food.

It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, and walking along the rather dark street made his skin crawl just a little.

They had just finished the last house, owned by a surly looking older man that still had humored them, when Denzel spotted something in the distance. Standing a little closer to the rest of the ruins was another house. It stood out because it looked so vastly different from the other homes in the area, more rural in appearance.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Marlene and Jody looked up from their own candy haul before turning to look where he was pointing.

"Huh, that's strange. I don't remember this one," Jody commented. "Looks kinda spooky, doesn't it?"

"Maybe they just moved here," Marlene replied.

"And build a house like this?"

Marlene shrugged underneath her robes. "Wanna check it out?"

Jody's little pom-pom moved around as she tilted her head to the side, something she always did while thinking. He found it kinda cute.

"Sure!" she said finally.

"I dunno," Denzel said. "Doesn't look like anyone's there..."

And indeed, the lights were out.

"Can't hurt to try, though," Marlene retorted.

He sighed. "I suppose."

The three of them walked over to the house and Denzel felt a sudden sense of unease in the back of his mind. Like they were being watched. He looked over his shoulder to check if someone was there, but found nothing but the empty road.

_Strange..._

They stopped at the doorstep and looked at one another, before he gingerly raised his hand and knocked on the door. A moment passed with nobody opening the door and he tried again just to be sure.

"Guess you were right about no one being here," Jody said as they all turned around to leave. Suddenly, there was a creaking sound from behind them, causing them all to jump a little and whirl around to see that the door was standing wide open now.

Denzel's heartbeat quickened, a cold shiver running down his back. "Did the door just open by itself?"

"I-I dunno," Marlene said. "Maybe the door wasn't locked?"

She took a step forward and called out: "Hello?"

No answer came. Nobody moved for what felt like an eternity, before Marlene took a step towards the door.

"Marlene!" But she didn't listen and instead walked up to the door and took off her mask to peek inside with the help of her lantern. He was about to run up to her and pull her away when she turned around.

"It's empty," she said. "Looks like no one's living here anymore."

Next to him, Jody released a breath and put a hand to her chest. She walked over to the other girl and also took a look inside. Denzel took a deep breath to calm himself, then joined both girls. With Marlene's lantern providing some light he could see the interior.

Just like on the outside it held a rural flair, and actually looked rather well kept. He spied a table in the middle of the room, surrounded by three chairs.

His uneasiness didn't go away, but right now curiosity won over and he found himself unconsciously stepping inside. Slowly, the girls followed him. With the combined light of their three lanterns the inside was illuminated enough to spot little details, like a thin layer of dust on the table, or some cobwebs in the far corner of the ceiling. Underneath his feet he noticed a few of the spiders scurrying away from the much larger invader.

"Who built this house?" Marlene wondered out loud as Denzel placed his lantern on the table.

"Whoever it was doesn't seem to live here anymore," Jody replied.

The floor was made entirely of stone and also covered in dust. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when he spotted a set of footprints in the dust, much larger than theirs.

"Someone was here!" he pointed to the floor.

"Think they're still here?"

"No." He shook his head. "See, they are also starting to get covered in dust again."

"Maybe someone broke into this place, saw there was nothing to steal and left again," Jody said before she looked around a little, then returned her gaze to them once more. "Is it just me, or is it kinda warm in here?"

It _was_ warm in here. Much more than one would expect from a house like this.

"It comes from the walls," Marlene said, having taken off one of her mittens and holding her hand against the wall closest to the set of stairs leading upstairs. "Weird..."

"Weird alright," Denzel murmured. With his curiosity now sated, that feeling of unease took over once again. Something was wrong here.

A gasp from Jody startled him and he whirled around just in time to see something tumble out of the closet that she had just opened a little. It bounced loudly off the floor before it landed directly in front of his feet.

His heart started to pound in his chest and his eyes widened as they locked with the empty sockets of the skull lying there, staring blankly at him. No one made a sound, and he didn't dare to look away, when all of a sudden the closet door started to squeak as it slowly opened followed by a startled sound.

Managing to tear away his eyes, he spotted Jody clinging to the wall, her body visibly shaking all over even from underneath her costume. Moving his gaze, he looked past her and into the closet.

His mind screamed at the sight of the red, pulsing flesh that greeted him there.

Then everything started to shake. Surprised, Denzel stumbled to the ground. All around them the air grew hotter and more humid as the stone walls started to somehow pull back, revealing more of that flesh.

Jody screamed as the wall behind her gave way and stumbled towards him.

"The door!" Denzel heard Marlene shout. Turning his head he saw that it was starting to close by itself. Scrambling to his feet, he ran towards it and pushed against it to keep it from closing. But the _house_ was stronger and he got slowly pushed back.

"We gotta get out!" he shouted. Behind him, Marlene stumbled her way towards Jody and helped the shaking girl to her feet. Gritting his teeth, Denzel pushed his entire body weight against the door as the girls ran towards him, somehow managing to keep it open long enough so that the girls could make it outside.

With a shout, he pushed one final time before slipping out just as the door was about to slam shut. Once outside, he noticed something looking like a head growing out of the roof, but his panicked mind didn't dare to fully look and instead told him _run the hell away._

And that he did. He grabbed both girls' hands and ran away.

They ran and ran, not stopping once, and somehow made it back to 7th Heaven. All three of them stumbled to the floor after they crashed through the front door, completely out of breath. Tifa was with them almost instantly, the bar having gone completely silent upon their arrival.

As soon as she knelt down in front of him, Denzel ripped off his mask and hugged her, burying his face into her shoulder. The warmth of her body engulfed him like a blanket, telling him that he was well and truly safe now. He was soon joined by Marlene and Jody, as they, too, all but jumped Tifa.

"What happened?" Tifa asked, her voice a mix of worry and confusion.

"M-m-monster!" Jody stammered and someone gasped amongst the patrons.

"Where?" Cloud asked, walking over and kneeling down next to them. Marlene's father did the same, gathering his little girl in a hug of his own, whispering calming words into her ear.

"At the town outskirts in the east..." Denzel said. "Not far from the ruins. We were just gathering candy when we noticed this weird house. But it's not just a house. It's a monster!"

Cloud frowned and exchanged a look with Tifa, before rising back to his feet.

"Barret," he said, removing the cape of his costume.

"Right with ya," the large man said as he handed Marlene back to Tifa.

"I'm sorry, but the party's over," Cloud said to the patrons. A murmur went through the group, but no one objected, and soon after they started to leave the bar.

"Take care of the kids," he said to Tifa. She nodded and started to guide the three of them upstairs.

As they rounded the corner, Denzel noticed the rest of their friends getting up and heading to the door.

"Don't worry. You're safe now," Tifa reassured them.

She sat them down in their little living room and as soon as he touched the sofa, he felt his body go slack as the adrenaline stopped coursing through his veins.

But Tifa was right. They were safe. And as he grabbed Jody's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, he knew that no monster could harm them here.

* * *

A while later, Tifa was back downstairs, cleaning up the bar when the front door opened. Cloud stepped back inside, followed by Barret.

"How did it go?" she asked immediately.

"It's done," Cloud said and sat down in front of the bar.

"How's Marlene?" Barret asked.

"Upstairs," she replied. "You can check on her, just be quiet. They're sleeping right now."

"Will do," the large man said. He walked past her up the stairs, leaving Cloud and her alone. From the look in his eyes she knew that he wanted a drink right now, so she wordlessly took a glass and placed it in front of him, before filling it with his favorite drink.

"Thanks," Cloud murmured and took a sip.

"So it was a Hell House?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "The others are still helping the clean up crew from the WRO."

"Who would have thought that one of them survived Meteorfall..."

"Mhm," was his only response as he focused his gaze on the drink in his hand.

"I called the orphanage and told them that Jody would stay overnight. I thought it would be best to let her stay with the others." She frowned when she saw the look on his face. "What's bothering you?"

"You know, we fought a few of those things back then, but something about this one was weird..."

"Weird how?" Tifa asked. Cloud lifted his gaze and locked his eyes with hers.

"It looked just like the old Gainsborough house," he replied. She stared at him for the longest time, the implications in his words hanging heavily in the room. Grabbing a glass, she poured herself a drink and sat down next to him.

"It...it hesitated," he murmured. Tifa put an arm around his shoulders and rested her head against his. It was strange how their past came back to haunt them in the most unexpected of ways.

Tonight was one of those times, it seemed.

But, the kids were alright. That was what mattered.

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**Hope you enjoyed this slightly scary tale. It was fun to twist the tradition of Halloween around just a little to make it different for the world of FF VII.**

**Read and review!**


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